Evaluation
Cinematographer
Pre-Production Evaluation
In any film, there are many roles which need to be fulfilled to ensure that the piece is planned, filmed, edited and completed to the best possible quality. This was no different for the opening of our psychological horror film, Home Video, and with just two people in our group, it was obvious that we would need to participate in many different areas. However, I chose to focus on the role of cinematographer.
As cinematographer, my main responsibilities will come once the planning is complete, and shooting begins; yet there is still a lot of things that I can do to ensure that our film is as professional as possible.
Before we had even decided what role we would take, we watched several horror films to try and find inspiration for the type of film we wanted to make. We came to a rather swift decision when we discovered that both Sam and I love psychological horrors, due to the fact that you scare yourself, and they really make you concentrate from first to last. Our biggest inspiration was Gore Verbinski’s classic ‘The Ring’, as this focused on the supernatural elements affecting a young, vulnerable girl at home. As soon as we watched the opening of this film, with its tense camera angles, brilliant mise-en-scene and tense music, we decided upon a psychological horror, not dissimilar to the 2002 hit.
Once the plot of the film was decided, it was important to get an immediate idea of how we as a group wanted the film to look and run. This was done through the creations of step outlines and written storyboards, which gave us an exact image of each shot that we would later shoot; this was clearly vital to me, so I took an active role in devising each shot choice and type. We devised exactly 78 shots that we were going to film over the entire four minutes and sixteen seconds that we thought it would last, and this encompassed a range of shot types and lengths, from panning long shots to dramatic close ups. After this, I began to consider the mise-en-scene of the film, as the generic conventions of psychological horrors are what make them so identifiable. Props such as the cloak of the ghost and the home video itself were vital, as well as creating shadows and shot angles that accentuated the genre.
Although we had decided on a definite amount of shots (in the written storyboard), this was flexible, and I believed that we would shoot over 100 shots to create a lot of items to be used by the editor. These decisions firstly lay with me as the cinematographer, although I constantly conferred with Sam to ensure that he was happy with each shot or re-take. The relationship between the cinematographer and the editor is vital in film, as they must both know what they want; if I had shot scenes that looked aesthetically brilliant but lacked continuity, Sam would have found it impossible to link one shot to the next.
With planning complete, we moved on to actually shooting our film, something that we both looked forward to as we really enjoy the process of shooting aesthetically pleasing shots.
Production Evaluation
As soon as I took the role of cinematographer, I realized that my main responsibilities would come during the shooting of the film, and so I began to take a more active role from here on in.
Firstly, I assessed each location that we would film at to ensure that it was suitable for what we wanted to film, and to check that there would be room for us, the camera and any other equipment, such as lighting. Furthermore, I worked in conjunction with the editor, as I wanted confirmation that each shot would allow for continuity; if the setting was likely to change over time, or if costumes didn’t remain constant throughout, then we may have had problems. Keeping the length of each shot long enough was also vital, as it meant that the editor would find it easier to cut each part and fit it with others; we understood completely that shooting more shots than were needed would mean we would not have to reshoot at another time.
My favourite part of filming, and being a cinematographer, is shooting aesthetically pleasing scenes with good composition, thus making the film look more professional. Throughout filming I strived to ensure that each shot used the rule of thirds, which means that each section of the shot shows good composition and there is not much ‘empty space’ that is unneeded; I was assisted in this by activating the nine square grid on the camera screen. Using this function also helps in the editing suite.
Possibly my favourite scene in our entire film is the one at the graveyard, when our protagonist goes to see her mother’s grave. When filming this scene, I spent a lot of time over each shot, considering the composition and ensuring that Sam would be able to edit the scene, as there is a lot of walking in the scene. My favourite shot involves both Zara and the cloaked figure, as they walk towards each other, as shown in the image. When placing the camera, Sam and I realized that the graveyard and the small branches that grew up it added to the eerie effect that we wished to create. However, the entire scene is aesthetically pleasing, as we use close ups, over the shoulder shots mixed with both high and low angle shots.
Overall, the scenes that we shot look professional, but most importantly contain good composition and continuity, the two aspects that I was most concerned with when beginning my role as cinematographer. We have used a range of shot types and angles whilst still ensuring that it is aesthetically pleasing and fitting for the horror genre.
Post-Production Evaluation
When beginning the filming process, Sam and I decided that we would watch back all of the shots we had taken at the end of every shoot, and if either of us saw anything which looked amateur or showed bad continuity or composition, we immediately rectified it to ensure that no reshoots were necessary. An example of this came when we were filming in the graveyard, as we moved the camera slightly to take a shot of Zara walking towards the grave. When watching this back, it showed not only poor composition (as there was a lot of empty space to the left of the girl) but would have given Sam a problem with continuity when editing. For this reason, we immediately moved the camera back to its original position and reshot the section. Although this added time to the shooting duration, it did allow us to feel comfortable when going to the editing suite.
As the editor, Sam took the major role in editing; after experimenting with imovie prior to the beginning of our shoots, he was very able using the software. However, my main role in the editing process was to suggest which shots were the best out of the array we took, and would work best in an aesthetic way. In many cases, we had three or four examples of each shot, and so deciding which one to use could've been difficult; by discussing this together, we ensured that the film looks as both of us imagined it. Furthermore, the effects that we used on the home video were ones that we chose together, after experimenting with various effects to try and make the video look just like a classic home video.
Although my role in the actual editing of the film was limited, I took the responsibility of creating the music that would be used in certain sections of Home Video as the non-diegetic sound. To do this, I familiarized myself with the software Garageband, as this allowed me to create music with all forms of instruments through the laptop. Before creating the music, I watched the edited sections of the film that the non-diegetic sound would be used for, so I could understand the atmosphere. The three scenes that I would create the music for are all tense sections, so I attempted to use ‘instruments’ that helped build up the dark atmosphere, such as strings and low bass noises. I found that it was difficult to make complex music, but the pieces work well in the film as they don’t take anything away from the footage whilst informing the audience that something key is going to occur.
Overall, I feel that my contributions to the film were vital before, during and after shooting, and I fully enjoyed the process. Although I could have taken more shots in the graveyard to assist Sam when he attempted to create an effect with the hooded figure, as well as using more lighting to illustrate the battle between light and dark in the film (shadowing Zara’s face), I do think that the film looks quite professional and many of the shots are both aesthetically pleasing and allow for good composition and continuity, which were my main aims at the start of the process.
Joshua Murray
Friday, 4 March 2011
Friday, 18 February 2011
Evaluation
Home Video Analysis:
In order to produce the best possible film we needed to designate certain roles within our group. I chose to focus on the editing.
My role as editor is important for an excellent film. I get given several hours worth of shots and filming, and must decide which of them look best and fit into our final piece. My job is to deliver good Composition and Continuity throughout the 5 minute assessed piece so that the film can be scary for all the right reasons. Bad editing can lead to the audience becoming bored, the film not being scary where we want it to be, and it could deliver the wrong messages.
I had to edit the film in the correct way to make it enjoyable to watch and in order to this I had to have the idea for what my group wanted our film to look like constantly in the forefront of my thoughts.
The idea that we have set out to portray come from several classic horror films of the same genre that we have seen and enjoyed in the past. These films include; ‘The Ring’, ‘Poltergeist’, ‘The Grudge’ and ‘Psycho’. My other group member and I also wanted the film to be a horror which keeps the audience constantly thinking. We believed that making a supernatural/paranormal horror would make it enjoyable to film and to edit, and would be the most effective way of scaring our target audience.
As editor I was inspired by the editing and sound design of the four films mentioned above. The scene which especially influenced me was the TV scene in The Ring, where the girl goes over to the TV and tries to work out why it won’t switch off. This is followed by another supernatural event in the kitchen. This scene grips the audience and creates a great deal of tension through a series of fast shots with good continuity. My aim was to try and edit our piece to a similar standard to cause added tension where necessary, which I believe I achieved.
Another example of good editing is seen in The Grudge. A long durational shot is used in the attic to create tension. This is then followed by a couple of shorter shots to scare the audience. I looked at doing the same during our bedroom scene towards the end of the film.
Also, as part of my role I needed to advise the director/cinematographer on shots and shot lengths depending on what I believed would look nicest when edited. I also needed to make sure that we took as many shots as possible and at the appropriate length so that I could make the most of the material I received and we wouldn’t have to film it again. My role was vital throughout the process, from the storyboarding at the beginning to the editing of shots at the end.
During the shooting of the film it was vital for me to make sure that the camera shots were where we decided to have them on the storyboard and that they looked good. After every scene anything that I thought was not good enough was re-shot. I was continuously looking for good composition and made sure we applied to the Rule of Thirds and the 180 degree rule. Shots that were not up to the right standard were either removed or we said on tape that it wasn’t a good shot to make it easier for the final editing. This, I believe, was one of our strengths. On looking back at what we produced, all of our shots look good. We used the rule of thirds to make sure there weren’t any big spaces around the main character. This means that the audience is not confused about what the main focus is in every shot. We also left enough space for the characters to walk in to without panning very much.
During the filming process I was constantly liaising with Josh (cinematographer) to make sure that we placed the camera in the right position and that the shot lengths were appropriate. Every shot we tried to film as much as possible so that it would make it easier to cut later. We also made sure that the shots were not too fast or too slow. If the pan was fast when we actually wanted to stress the point that it was meant to be a slow pan, it wouldn’t have had the same effect on the audience. A fast pan could make the audience feel uneasy instead of creating tension (which is caused by a slow pan). A weakness that we came across was that the bedroom scene was probably not scary enough because we couldn’t get several different shots due to the lack of space. This meant that we only took the shot from one angle, which doesn’t cause a lot of tension.
However, once we had finished the 4-5 minute long film it was clear that we had managed to keep good composition and continuity throughout. When looking back on all the footage that we had, any shots that josh or I did not think were good enough were removed during the editing process. As we had had several shoots, we were therefore able to reshoot anything that we had missed or that we didn’t think were good enough. An example of this was when we forgot to remove the hat from the actor as she left the graveyard, even though we saw her put it on to the gravestone. This poor continuity meant that we immediately reshot that bit to correct our mistake.
As I took the main role as editor, I took it largely upon myself to make sure that anything I edited josh was happy with. The effects added to the home video were quickly decided after agreeing that they look most fitting to what we both had in mind. Other effects that worked well were the fade-ins and fade-outs in between scenes. These helped the film to flow throughout the five minutes.
The scenes that I edited inside the house I believe worked very well and looked very good. I used the mixture of slow pans and close-ups to create tension, for example when the main character walks down the hallway to her mum’s bedroom. I was also pleased with the scene where Zara places her hat on the gravestone. We shot that from two different angles on two separate occasions, but I managed to make sure that we had good continuity throughout. However, I would’ve liked to have made the hooded figure fade away in the graveyard after Zara and her bumped in to each other, but because the camera wasn’t in the same position we couldn’t.
In conclusion, the main weakness was the lack of shots I got from the shoots, which hindered me from adding an effect to the graveyard scene that could’ve been important. But my main strengths in my role as editors were; the good continuity throughout the film, a good mixture of slow and fast shots to create tension (e.g. kitchen door opening a second time), a mixture of camera angles and pans, and all in all a very well flowing film.
Sam Van de Schootbrugge
In order to produce the best possible film we needed to designate certain roles within our group. I chose to focus on the editing.
My role as editor is important for an excellent film. I get given several hours worth of shots and filming, and must decide which of them look best and fit into our final piece. My job is to deliver good Composition and Continuity throughout the 5 minute assessed piece so that the film can be scary for all the right reasons. Bad editing can lead to the audience becoming bored, the film not being scary where we want it to be, and it could deliver the wrong messages.
I had to edit the film in the correct way to make it enjoyable to watch and in order to this I had to have the idea for what my group wanted our film to look like constantly in the forefront of my thoughts.
The idea that we have set out to portray come from several classic horror films of the same genre that we have seen and enjoyed in the past. These films include; ‘The Ring’, ‘Poltergeist’, ‘The Grudge’ and ‘Psycho’. My other group member and I also wanted the film to be a horror which keeps the audience constantly thinking. We believed that making a supernatural/paranormal horror would make it enjoyable to film and to edit, and would be the most effective way of scaring our target audience.
As editor I was inspired by the editing and sound design of the four films mentioned above. The scene which especially influenced me was the TV scene in The Ring, where the girl goes over to the TV and tries to work out why it won’t switch off. This is followed by another supernatural event in the kitchen. This scene grips the audience and creates a great deal of tension through a series of fast shots with good continuity. My aim was to try and edit our piece to a similar standard to cause added tension where necessary, which I believe I achieved.
Another example of good editing is seen in The Grudge. A long durational shot is used in the attic to create tension. This is then followed by a couple of shorter shots to scare the audience. I looked at doing the same during our bedroom scene towards the end of the film.
Also, as part of my role I needed to advise the director/cinematographer on shots and shot lengths depending on what I believed would look nicest when edited. I also needed to make sure that we took as many shots as possible and at the appropriate length so that I could make the most of the material I received and we wouldn’t have to film it again. My role was vital throughout the process, from the storyboarding at the beginning to the editing of shots at the end.
During the shooting of the film it was vital for me to make sure that the camera shots were where we decided to have them on the storyboard and that they looked good. After every scene anything that I thought was not good enough was re-shot. I was continuously looking for good composition and made sure we applied to the Rule of Thirds and the 180 degree rule. Shots that were not up to the right standard were either removed or we said on tape that it wasn’t a good shot to make it easier for the final editing. This, I believe, was one of our strengths. On looking back at what we produced, all of our shots look good. We used the rule of thirds to make sure there weren’t any big spaces around the main character. This means that the audience is not confused about what the main focus is in every shot. We also left enough space for the characters to walk in to without panning very much.
During the filming process I was constantly liaising with Josh (cinematographer) to make sure that we placed the camera in the right position and that the shot lengths were appropriate. Every shot we tried to film as much as possible so that it would make it easier to cut later. We also made sure that the shots were not too fast or too slow. If the pan was fast when we actually wanted to stress the point that it was meant to be a slow pan, it wouldn’t have had the same effect on the audience. A fast pan could make the audience feel uneasy instead of creating tension (which is caused by a slow pan). A weakness that we came across was that the bedroom scene was probably not scary enough because we couldn’t get several different shots due to the lack of space. This meant that we only took the shot from one angle, which doesn’t cause a lot of tension.
However, once we had finished the 4-5 minute long film it was clear that we had managed to keep good composition and continuity throughout. When looking back on all the footage that we had, any shots that josh or I did not think were good enough were removed during the editing process. As we had had several shoots, we were therefore able to reshoot anything that we had missed or that we didn’t think were good enough. An example of this was when we forgot to remove the hat from the actor as she left the graveyard, even though we saw her put it on to the gravestone. This poor continuity meant that we immediately reshot that bit to correct our mistake.
As I took the main role as editor, I took it largely upon myself to make sure that anything I edited josh was happy with. The effects added to the home video were quickly decided after agreeing that they look most fitting to what we both had in mind. Other effects that worked well were the fade-ins and fade-outs in between scenes. These helped the film to flow throughout the five minutes.
The scenes that I edited inside the house I believe worked very well and looked very good. I used the mixture of slow pans and close-ups to create tension, for example when the main character walks down the hallway to her mum’s bedroom. I was also pleased with the scene where Zara places her hat on the gravestone. We shot that from two different angles on two separate occasions, but I managed to make sure that we had good continuity throughout. However, I would’ve liked to have made the hooded figure fade away in the graveyard after Zara and her bumped in to each other, but because the camera wasn’t in the same position we couldn’t.
In conclusion, the main weakness was the lack of shots I got from the shoots, which hindered me from adding an effect to the graveyard scene that could’ve been important. But my main strengths in my role as editors were; the good continuity throughout the film, a good mixture of slow and fast shots to create tension (e.g. kitchen door opening a second time), a mixture of camera angles and pans, and all in all a very well flowing film.
Sam Van de Schootbrugge
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
rationale
‘Home Video’ is a psychological horror that contains several ‘supernatural ‘ elements. The film tells the story of a girl who encounters a string of strange supernatural events after her mum’s death, indicating that her mum may not be dead. The idea of using supernatural aspects combined with a TV as the main prop originated from The Ring and Poltergeist. We combined the two to create the fear that someone or something else was present in the house, making the sub-genre more eerie.
84 words
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Post-Production Evaluation
After many hours of planning and shooting our film, we had shot all of the scenes needed to create a 4-5 minute long piece. Throughout the process we had had several shoots, and so when it came to editing the last scenes shot, we already had around half of the film edited. As cinematographer, I firstly watched back all of the scenes that had been shot at the location, and this ensured that we didn't need to reshoot much at a later date; if I (or Sam) saw a shot that looked amateur or showed bad composition or continuity, we reshot it immediately, as this technique also makes the editor's job easier. An example of this took place when we moved the camera slightly for an identical shot, meaning that the continuity would look shabby; we immediately corrected it by replacing the camera in the first position. Although this added time to the shooting duration, it did allow us to feel comfortable when going to the editing suite.
Sam took the major role in editing; after experimenting with imovie prior to the beginning of our shoots, he was very able using the software. However, my main role in the editing process was to suggest which shots would work well in an aesthetic way, whilst still ensuring that continuity and composition were upkept. In many cases, we had three or four examples of each shot, and so deciding which one to use could've been difficult; by discussing this together, we ensured that the film looks as both of us imagined it. Furthermore, the effects that we used on the home video were ones that we chose together, after experimenting with various effects to try and make the video look just like a home video.
As I mentioned earlier, we watched back almost each and every shot that we took to ensure that we had exactly what we wanted and needed for the editing suite, therefore cutting the chance that we would need a reshoot.
*NOT COMPLETE*
Sam took the major role in editing; after experimenting with imovie prior to the beginning of our shoots, he was very able using the software. However, my main role in the editing process was to suggest which shots would work well in an aesthetic way, whilst still ensuring that continuity and composition were upkept. In many cases, we had three or four examples of each shot, and so deciding which one to use could've been difficult; by discussing this together, we ensured that the film looks as both of us imagined it. Furthermore, the effects that we used on the home video were ones that we chose together, after experimenting with various effects to try and make the video look just like a home video.
As I mentioned earlier, we watched back almost each and every shot that we took to ensure that we had exactly what we wanted and needed for the editing suite, therefore cutting the chance that we would need a reshoot.
*NOT COMPLETE*
Friday, 17 December 2010
Feedback after first shoot
After shooting and editing around half of our film, we showed our work so far to the rest of the class. Once they had watched the results of our first shoot, we left the room to allow them time to give critical feedback on our film. Here are some of the points that were given to us:
- Increase brightness/contrast in occasional shots
- Include more non-diegetic sound and diegetic sound effects
- More effect on TV turning on
- More close ups
Quite a few of the points made are ones that we ourselves had already picked up on, and we will definitely take this constructive criticism into account when we do our second shoot at the weekend, as well as when we edit, to ensure that our film looks as professional as possible.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Production Evaluation (Cinematography)
Cinematographer
As soon as I took on the role of cinematographer, I realised that my main responsibilities would fall during the shooting of the film, and that has certainly been the case. I have tried to take the lead throughout the filming of our scenes, and have done this through several key aspects.
Firstly, I have assessed each location at which we have filmed, ensuring that the mise-en-scene is fitting for our genre, as well as for the ideal scenes that we wanted to shoot. Furthermore, I had to work in conjunction with the editor to check that every shot would allow for good continuity when used in the editing suite, making sure that all costumes, lighting and props stay constant throughout. Keeping the length of each shot long enough meant that the editor would also find it easier to cut each part and fit it with others; we understood completely that shooting more shots than were needed would mean we would NOT have to reshoot at another time.
Personally, one of my favourite aspects of being the cinematographer is shooting aesthetically pleasing shots with good composition, thus making the film look professionally done. For this reason, I spent lots of time before shooting each single shot to ensure that no shots were of a poor quality. Using the 'rule of thirds' (helped by a nine square grid which I activated on the camera screen), I was able to shoot each shot with good composition, making sure there was little room above the head, and not a lot of empty space at the sides of shots. This also helps in the editing suite.
One scene I am pleased with is the scene in which our protagonist arrives home and enters the kitchen, oblivious to the fact that the fridge door is opening behind her. I managed to shoot lots of shots from various angles (adhering to the 180 degree rule) throughout the scene, using panning to add effect. Furthermore, after shooting several shots, we assessed the lighting and after deciding it was too bright on the girl's face, we changed the angles of the lights, allowing a softer light to fall onto the setting. Finally, we shot an over the shoulder shot to finish the scene, which is something we were very pleased with.
Overall, the scenes that we have managed to shoot so far look quite professional, and due to the fact that we have shot so many this will allow us a lot to use in the editing suite. However, I am most pleased with the composition and continuity of the shots, as we have used a range of shot types and angles whilst still ensuring that it is aesthetically pleasing and fitting for the horror genre. We do understand that there are some sections which may need reshooting, such as in the mother's bedroom, but our grasp on aspects such as lighting and mise-en-scene has improved throughout production, and this will definitely help when we shoot our final scene at the graveyard, and then continue to edit 'Home Video'.
Josh Murray- Incentive
As soon as I took on the role of cinematographer, I realised that my main responsibilities would fall during the shooting of the film, and that has certainly been the case. I have tried to take the lead throughout the filming of our scenes, and have done this through several key aspects.
Firstly, I have assessed each location at which we have filmed, ensuring that the mise-en-scene is fitting for our genre, as well as for the ideal scenes that we wanted to shoot. Furthermore, I had to work in conjunction with the editor to check that every shot would allow for good continuity when used in the editing suite, making sure that all costumes, lighting and props stay constant throughout. Keeping the length of each shot long enough meant that the editor would also find it easier to cut each part and fit it with others; we understood completely that shooting more shots than were needed would mean we would NOT have to reshoot at another time.
Personally, one of my favourite aspects of being the cinematographer is shooting aesthetically pleasing shots with good composition, thus making the film look professionally done. For this reason, I spent lots of time before shooting each single shot to ensure that no shots were of a poor quality. Using the 'rule of thirds' (helped by a nine square grid which I activated on the camera screen), I was able to shoot each shot with good composition, making sure there was little room above the head, and not a lot of empty space at the sides of shots. This also helps in the editing suite.
One scene I am pleased with is the scene in which our protagonist arrives home and enters the kitchen, oblivious to the fact that the fridge door is opening behind her. I managed to shoot lots of shots from various angles (adhering to the 180 degree rule) throughout the scene, using panning to add effect. Furthermore, after shooting several shots, we assessed the lighting and after deciding it was too bright on the girl's face, we changed the angles of the lights, allowing a softer light to fall onto the setting. Finally, we shot an over the shoulder shot to finish the scene, which is something we were very pleased with.
Overall, the scenes that we have managed to shoot so far look quite professional, and due to the fact that we have shot so many this will allow us a lot to use in the editing suite. However, I am most pleased with the composition and continuity of the shots, as we have used a range of shot types and angles whilst still ensuring that it is aesthetically pleasing and fitting for the horror genre. We do understand that there are some sections which may need reshooting, such as in the mother's bedroom, but our grasp on aspects such as lighting and mise-en-scene has improved throughout production, and this will definitely help when we shoot our final scene at the graveyard, and then continue to edit 'Home Video'.
Josh Murray- Incentive
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